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Description

At a time when much of the world was either enticed with or entrapped by fascism, Dietrich Bonhoeffer dared to live the morally responsible Christian life to its most expressive, and tragic, end. As a theologically rooted opponent to National Socialism, and later as a member of the political resistance against Nazism, Bonhoeffer was recognized as a leader even by his enemies and was hanged by the Gestapo in 1945. His legacy has inspired many and has demonstrated his landmark life and works to be among the most important of the twentieth century and the most relevant for our times ahead.

This celebrated biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Eberhard Bethge—Bonhoeffer's friend, pupil, close associate and relative by marriage—has been fully reviewed, corrected, and clarified by leading Bonhoeffer scholar Victoria Barnett for this new edition of the classic and definitive work. With previous sections updated and expanded, and entirely new sections on Bonhoeffer's childhood never before seen in English, this edition is sure to be the most accurate and inspiring textual rendering of Bonhoeffer to date.

Paperback

ISBN:

9780800628444

Price:

$59.00

Release date:

February 18, 2000

Pages:

1,068

Width:

6

Height:

9

Endorsements

"Some words Gorky used about Tolstoy come into my mind: 'Look what a wonderful man is living on this earth!''...Bethge has produced a monumental study of him which will surely stand as the definitive and authoritative work on the subject. Reading...it is a spiritual experience."
— Malcom Muggeridge, The Observer

Table of Contents

Foreword
Preface to the First English Edition
Portrait
Abbreviations

PART ONE: THE LURE OF THEOLOGY

Childhood and Youth: 1906-1923

Ancestors
Parents' Home in Breslau
Berlin
The Decision to Become a Theologian

Student Years: 1923-1927

Family
Tübingen
Rome
Berlin
Dissertation
Seminar Essays
First Ties to a Regional Church

Assistant Pastor in Barcelona: 1928

Selecting a Post as Vicar
The Country
The Parish
Plans for the Future

Assistant Lecturer in Berlin: 1929-1930

Postdoctoral Work
Family and Friends
American Plans

America: 1930-1931

The Country
Friends
Union Theological Seminary
The Return Home

PART TWO: THE COST OF BEING A CHRISTIAN

Lecturer and Pastor: 1931-1932

Bonn
Catechism
Cambridge
The Transition from Theologian to Christian
The University
The Church
Ecumenism

Berlin: 1933

February: Controlled Chaos
March: Hitler's Laws
April: The German Christians
May: The Young Reformation Movement
June: The State Commissar
July: Church Elections
August: The Bethel Confession
September: The Aryan Clause

London: 1933-1935

Parish Minister
First Attack against the Reich Church Government, Winter 1933-1934
George K.A. Bell, Bishop of Chichester
Fanö
Second Attack against the Reich Church Government, Winter 1934-1935
Plans

Preachers' Seminary: 1935

The Seminaries
Zingst and Finkenwalde
The Syllabus
The House of Brethren
The Ecumenical World
The Steglitz Resolutions

Finkenwalde: 1936-1937

The Fifth Implementation Decree
The Journey To Sweden
The Essay on Church-Community
The Memorandum to Hilter
"Service to Others"
Chamby, 1936
The Last Year in Finkenwalde
The End of Finkenwalde

The Collective Pastorates: 1938-1940

The Backwoods of Pomerania
The Low Point of the Church Struggle
Legalization
The Lure of the Political Realm
England: March and April 1939
America: June and July 1939
The War
Christian and Man for His Times

PART THREE: SHARING GERMANY'S DESTINY

Travels: 1940-1943

Section One: The Church
Section Two: The Conspiracy

Tegel: 1943-1944

The Trial of Hans Von Dohnanyi
The Investigation of Bonhoeffer
The Cell in Tegel
The New Theology